Cyber Security Assessments And Insurance - The Global Futurist - Douglas E. Castle

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The incidence and scale of hacking (and other types of data security breaching) activity, multiplied by its accelerating level of sophistication has individuals and businesses in an ever-increasing state of fear.

With our dangerous growing dependency on the electronic storage and transmittal of information, as well as with the growing percentage of commerce and banking transacted online and via mobile devices, there is a rapidly rising risk of significant financial and personal (real, physical) loss. Of course, this increasing risk, both actual and perceived, will translate to increasing opportunity for certain entrepreneurs, enterprises and visionary investors.

I would suggest that two business-to-business industry sectors which will ripen to full bloom during the next two to three years [although I do not provide financial or investment advice to any reader/s under any circumstances] will be: 1) cyber security assessments, evaluations and standardized ratings*; and 2) insurance (i.e., insurance products and policy providers) against losses due to incidents involving hacking or other types of data security breaches.
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* These standardized security ratings could be some variation on the theme of ISO (the International Organization For Standardization) 27001, or promulgated by some other body, either existing or to be created.
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Start scanning and scouring the news and marketplaces for companies which are contemplating significant investments or forays into either one or both of the above industry sectors, and you will be looking at the future, albeit today.

Prepare yourself, your systems, your routines and your portfolio accordingly.

Douglas E. Castle for The Global Futurist Blog

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THE GLOBAL FUTURIST – Douglas E Castle

http://theglobalfuturist.blogspot.com

Discovering and following significant trends across an extensive range of domestic and international consumer, business, demographic, cultural, economic, political, technological and other key areas of influence and impact on life and business; predicting future change, preparing for it and profiting from it.

Key Terms: business, forecasting, trends, future, prediction, disruption, displacement, innovation, complexity theory, economic waves and cycles, projections, planning

The Cyberworms Multiply, Awaiting Instructions

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The cyberworms (quiet, subtle creatures [remember Conficker?] which have infiltrated and infected more than an estimated 80% of the information and communications equipment in the industrialized world, and which continue to multiply through various spreading and contact vectors) are lying in wait for instructions from their programmer-masters, who will awaken them at some point within the near future and give them orders to act. We are, for the most part helpless to stop sophisticated, constantly evolving worms [they have very mutational and adaptive intelligence programmed into their code -- their DNA, so to speak], which act like remote-controlled robots which can be instructed to commandeer their hosts at any time.

A quick refresher from Wikipedia:

The first variant of Conficker, discovered in early November 2008, propagated through the Internet by exploiting a vulnerability in a network service (MS08-067) on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta.^[14] While Windows 7 may have been affected by this vulnerability, the Windows 7 Beta was not publicly available until January 2009. Although Microsoft released an emergency out-of-band patch on October 23, 2008 to close the vulnerability,^[15] a large number of Windows PCs (estimated at 30%) remained unpatched as late as January 2009.^[16] A second variant of the virus, discovered in December 2008, added the ability to propagate over LANs through removable media and network shares.^[17] Researchers believe that these were decisive factors in allowing the virus to propagate quickly.

The Global Futurist Blog (sometimes spoken of at http://DouglasECastle.com) has reason to believe (the prediction mechanism here is an amalgam of long wave theory, catastrophic event timing, and a bit of astrology and prophesy) believes that these worms will be instructed to rain mayhem over all of their host users. Further, I believe that Bill Gates and Microsoft are creeping rapidly out of supporting their invaded hardware and software due to their sharing this vision. I believe a massive attack of catastrophic proportions will be undertaken between either in 2015 or 2016.

Sadly, most virus and malware removal tools are not sophisticated enough to detect the infection, or to isolate and neutralize it, were it to be found. Many government, security and utilities systems are supposedly closed -- such that the mini-net is sealed off from outside communications. Again, I believe that there are insidious ways (employees bringing work home, or accessing closed systems from outside) that these safety measures can be easily compromised.

I cannot predict the nature of the event, but it is likely to be coordinated by giving either all or large caches of these cyberterrorbots instructions in coordinated fashion. Rest assured that it will be catastrophic, and will involve a vast show of power over established authority.

We'll keep you posted.

Douglas E. Castle 
THE GLOBAL FUTURIST BLOG

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